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A handy guide to creating the perfect cheese plate

I may or may not be obsessed with cheese (are you, too?), so the fact that we live down the street from Murray's Cheese, the most amazing cheese shop that ever existed, is fabulous and a little dangerous. The shop is packed with incredible cheeses, meats, chocolates, breads and ice creams, and the cheesemongers are geniuses (and give samples!). Toby and I venture over there at least twice a week, and we're both fatter and happier for it.

So, my darlings, I'm thrilled to present this handy guide to creating the perfect cheese plate! I met with Murray's head cheesemonger Sydney Willcox to discover her tried-and-true tips, and the lovely Jamie Beck took photos. Here goes...Overall pointers for putting together a cheese plate:
* When you invite friends over, buy one ounce per person per cheese; and stick to five to six cheeses total.
* Choose a fun variety of cheeses: different textures, countries, and all three milk types (goat, sheep, cow).
* Serve all the cheeses on one big board. You want your guests to start with the mildest and work up to the strongest, so place the cheeses in "clock order"--12 o'clock being the mildest and 11 o'clock being the strongest.
* Take the cheese out of the fridge at least an hour before serving. Cheese should be eaten at room temperature, when it's at its full flavor and texture.
* Put out a few different knives. Goat and blue cheeses crumble if you use a regular knife, so cheese wires are the best thing to use--if you don't have one, you can use dental floss! Softer cheeses work best with a butter knife. Harder cheeses, like parmesan, are good with a triangle-shaped knife. Cut circular cheeses in wedges, like a pizza.
* If you have leftovers, don't store the cheese in Saran Wrap, which will make the cheese sweat and leave a plastic-y taste. Cheese is living and needs to breathe, so wrap it in parchment or wax paper, and keep it in the most humid part of the fridge (usually the vegetable drawer).Six cheeses for the perfect basic cheese plate:
(pictured clockwise from top)

1. Cremont is a bloomy, rindy, mild cheese, which debuted last year in Vermont. (The name "cremont" is a mix of "cream" and "Vermont"!) The cheese has both cow and goat milk. Luscious, coats your tongue, fudge-y, cake-y.

2. La Tur is the little black dress of cheeses! Everyone loves it. It's a mix of goat, sheep and cow--which is is pretty unusual. Flavorwise, you get a hint of all three animals--tang from the goat, lingering buttery fat from the sheep, milky sweetness from the cow. The texture feels almost whipped, like savory ice cream! At a party, this insanely popular Italian cheese will disappear first.

3. Pyrenees Brebis. Every single person I've has ever met loves this sheep's milk cheese. It's a huge crowd-pleaser. A lot of flavor, but very harmonious. Nutty, salty, floral, semi-soft. From the southwest region of France, where there are huge herds of sheep.

4. Cabot Clothbound Cheddar. Cabot makes lots of cheddars, but this is their artisanal (read: fancy!) line. What's cool about this cheese is that it's a partnership between Cabot and the Cellars at Jasper Hill--Cabot makes the cheese, which is then aged in the Cellars at Jasper Hill. There's actually a staff of guys (football-player size!) who flip these cheeses everyday, so they'll age evenly. The cheese is wrapped in cloth, which is a more English style of making cheese. Super strong cheddar; you get little crystals. You'll taste peanuts, caramel, earthy flavors. Eat from the inside out; then take the cloth off and then eat the rind--it almost takes like dirt, but it works so well with the other flavors. (P.S. It would make the best grilled cheese you'd ever have in your life.)

5. Pleasant Ridge Reserve. Made with raw Jersey cow's milk in Wisconsin. Very fruity and smooth. The American Cheese Society just named it "Best in Show" for the third time (it's the only cheese to have been awarded Best in Show more than once!). You've gotta try it.

6. Cambozola Black Label is a very, very delicate blue cheese. Just a tinge of that mineral flavor; very buttery with a bit of a cashew flavor. A great beginning cheese for people who think they might not like blue cheeses. (Once you put it on bread and add a grape, it will mellow out, if you’re feeling timid!) Blue cheeses and chocolate also go together really well--a great balance of salty and sweet.

Pair cheeses with: Dried cherries, walnuts, marcona almonds (I love these!), fresh grapes, crackers and French bread.Yummy! Thank you so much, Sydney and Murray's! Have you tried any of these cheeses before? Do you have a different favorite cheese that you'd recommend? I'd love to hear...

cambozola is my secret to happiness. i have these lovely rosemary-flavored crispy crackers that make an amazing cheese into an event. an after-work two-bite treat whose flavor and texture melt the day's stress away.

Oh so yummy. I'm salivating seeing all of those pictures. My dad use to work near that cheese stop. I would always wonder around in there when he worked on Saturdays. His office moved and I haven't been there in a while.

"The little black dress of cheese". I think that's my favorite line in this post. I love cheese but now I want to try all these you mentioned. I'm starting to get into the whole dinner party feel and I'm definitely bookmarking this post for future reference. I have to get a cheese wire!! =)

Im crazy about cheese and I could eat it all the time! My all favourites are the Beaufort and Comté but I also love serving a bit of humboldt Fog from time to time...Its a great goat milk cheese:) Love this guide! Thanks, Joanna and you look so adorable! Kisses

And I thought I was a cheese hound! :) Thank you so much for this. I'm going to look like a cheese expert the next time I have a party and serve these. I'm now curious though, if you have any suggestions for wine that would go well with the cheese? I'm sure each cheese would react differently to a certain wine. :)

My favorite recent cheese discovery is Trugole. It's a semi-soft cow's milk cheese from the Piedmont region of Italy, and it has a perfect balance of sweet/salty/nutty that seems to go with everything and is utterly addictive!

Thanks Joanna! This is a timely post for my life, it took me way too long in life to get interested in cheese, but for the last few months I've been hooked! I send my husband links to menus in town that have good looking cheese plates! I'm out of control. I'm actually going to jot down your cheese selections and take it with me to Dibruno Brothers in my (Philadelphia) neighborhood this week.

i'm having my book club tonight and will be serving a big cheese board as well. i have planned a herbed goat cheese, a manchego and a rosemary asiago. sides include dried figs, apricots and a pinot grigio salami. along with three kinds of crackers. oh and a mediterrean inspired plate of cucumbers, oil and herbed infused feta, black olives and roasted red pepper hummus. should be the making of a good night:)

1) This is perfect party prep! I wish I'd had this when I was 21 and clueless about cheese, yet trying to plan wine and cheese parties! and 2) I love your collaborations with Jamie! You're the perfect lifestyle inspiration team.

Goodness me, I LOVE Murray's Cheese. Discovered it on a food tour in Greenwich several years back and I day dream about it often. Recommended Cheese? Havarti, for sure!! I have some every morning for breakfast. Nom. Nom.

Oh wow, THANK YOU, Joanna! :) This is exactly the sort of guide I needed...I adore cheese too, so having a guide to throw a wine + cheese party just makes me so happy! :) Can't wait to do it now - thank you, thank you! :)

oh the fromage! love this post. i am the person you see hanging around the cheese section at whole foods daydreaming away about what concoction i can create with the overpriced tiny block of cheese. lol

Thank you for this post!! Today is my dad's birthday, and he loves gourmet cheeses and cheese plates. I just ordered a gift box that should be delivered in time for his birthday dinner on Friday! Thanks again.

Joanna, you have to try the 15-year aged cheddar from Hook's Cheese Company in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. It's only available in small batches at certain points in the year (and sells for $50/pound), but it is crumbly, crystallized heaven. Their other cheese are phenomenal as well, and available at Murray's.

Dear Joanna, I'll be in Paris in a couple of days,I have always been a bit shy about cheese types. I am a beginner who wants to improve her taste and start experimenting. so far, i've tried and liked roblechon and tomme.which types would you recommend me?best,Damla

My boyfriend and I live down the street from Murray's too! It takes some serious self control not to pop in nightly on my way home from work! We discovered La Tur about a year ago and it continues to be my favorite cheese. It really is the ice cream of cheese!

Thank you for the the guide! I never knew to place cheeses around the plate in order from mildest to strongest. Are there rules on how stinky the cheese can be that you set out for guests? I love Epoisses but get nervous putting it out when people come over because it's a real stinker.

Obsessed with this post. We just got a new grocery store with a cheese counter - this is a huge feat in our small town and I have been dying to have a cheese and wine party. Printing these tips and taking them with me!

I haven't tried any of these cheeses specificaly, but I love sharp sharp cheddar, bleu cheese, and Cabot brand...anything so far! Also Cracker Barrel...just saying! :-))} The La Tur intrigues me. I'm gonna have to find me some of that and try it. You didn't mention the price ranges on any of these though. Do they cost as expensive as they sound?!

I love this post! mostly because of how much I love anything related to cheese ;) But I've just recently grown into a time in my life where I enjoy entertaining and preparing fun things like the perfect cheese plate are on the top of the list of things I'd love to have knowledge of.

I've recently fallen in love with Fontain cheese. But really anything will do.

Ossau Iraty (sp?) is from the Pyrenees and is sublime. I think it's my favorite. I also love Manchego as an everyday cheese, and a peccorino balsamico with a drizzle of honey and sprinkle of coarse salt for dessert!!!

I met my husband when he worked at a cheese shop. We ran into each other on the subway one day after he was off work. He said "sorry if I smell like cheese" and I'm pretty sure I said "I have absolutely no problem with that!"

Love this feature!Faves are Stilton, niagara gold, sauvegine (not sure if I'm spelling that right) a nice pecorino and an old cheddar

This is so great! Have you tried Barely Buzzed? It's from Beehive Cheese Co and the outside is rubbed with espresso and lavender. It's seasonal but I'm pretty sure Murray's carries it, so keep a look out!

These tips are great! My sisters and I ate so much cheese growing up. In fact, one time we were out in the Redland forest in CA and my sister, about 3 at the time, picked a wild poisonous spore and ate it. Because my mom had just given her a huge hunk of cheese to snack on, the spore was absorbed and she was totally fine. Time spent in the emergency room for no reason... haha

I also live a couple of blocks from Murrays and, having grown up with two French parents, could happily eat cheese for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and often do). I think this weekend I will have to make a trip over to Murrays for their cheese straws. Joanna if you haven't tried them I highly reccommend you do!

My best friend/neighbor used to work at one of the best cheese shops in our city. She was how I learned about cheese. Whenever I don't know what to bring to a dinner party, I offer to bring the cheese. I love offering dried fruits, especially mango, and roasted nuts. A drizzle of honey on blue cheese, or some quince paste is also yum.

ooo this is perfect! oh of my favourite cheese platters ever was at the stillwater bar & grill in brooklyn when i visited new york last february. they had an amazing apricot preserve and also included pears! yummy... but this looks equally delicious!

I grew up in the "Cheese Curd Capital" (Ellsworth, WI) and am a little biased; my absolute favorite cheese is warm, squeaky cheese curds fresh from the creamery. Not quite as gourmet as the cheeses listed here, but still worth a try!

Thanks to your fun post, though, I'm feeling inspired to head to the local cheese counter and be a little more adventurous.

About the quantity: is that one ounce per cheese per person for an appetizer? to have out when people are conversing (with no dinner to follow? for dinner? For example, with six cheeses, six ounces per person would make me pretty full before dinner. What do you think?

Wow, thank you for sharing all of this info! I had a wine and cheese party in my early twenties and had no idea what I was doing! I just asked everyone to bring a bottle of wine and cheese to compliment it. It was cheesy chaos! I'm now inspired to try it again :)

I love this post! I'm a huge cheese fan. Everyone always picks on me because the minute ANYONE stops by I always put out cheese and crackers. So this post is actually extremely helpful (and so pleasing just to look at!)

What a fun, informative post! I'm a "poor college student," but my dad, who is from Wisconsin, always jokes that I have an unlimited cheese budget :) A springtime wine and cheese party sounds perfect right now! I will be referring back to this post for advice!Lisa

JO! Wow a cheese post. I love cheese. When my sisters-in-law and I stayed at your place we loved the sidewalk in front of Murray's...the glass panel showing all the cheeses aging underground. Stellar!!! I posted about you somewhat and your lovely livingroom...it features a little in my latest post if you wish to have a look. http://gilliandasilva.comDo you remember when your fireplace was styled like that? xoxo much love!

Excellent list of pointers. If you don't mind, I'll have to post in my kitchen. Thank you! And, I love your cheese selection. Our last cheese bliss was a while back called Obscure Cheeses http://bit.ly/gxEp9m Now I'm just dreaming.

i admit i too have a love affair with cheese. i like to serve it at parties for an appetizer or dessert. if i can't make it to a speciality cheese shop, trader joe's has a good selection, my favs their are port salut and brie.

joanna this is genius and such a great way to feed guests! i never gave much thought to cheese before, just got nice one and stuck it with some grapes, but now i'm converted! i can't wait to try that cremont!

thanks for all these fun comments!! stephanie, the one ounce per cheese per person, and 5-6 cheeses total, is when you're hosting a cheese tasting night, and you wouldn't be ordering dinner. you're totally right -- you'd really fill up on that!

what an awesome post! i'm obsessed with cheeses too, especially Spanish ones like Iberico + tetilla. I've always been a little confused as to which cheese goes where on the board so this will definitely come in handy! thank you!

Hi!!I would highly recommend some Spanish cheese. Torta del casar; Mahón cheese or cabrales (so hard this one). I don't know if you can find them in USA but if you have some Spanish friend maybe smuggling some.

Ohhhh, a post after my own heart. Thank you for this - I can't wait to try some new cheeses. One of my favourites right now is local to me (in Northern California) - Cowgirl Creamery. Their Mt. Tam ranks up there with some of the best cheese I've ever had.They inspire me so much, I took photos. :) cheese1cheese2

Love love love this post. If I could eat cheese for every meal for the rest of my life, I would be a fat and happy little girl. One of my favorites is Humboldt Fog cheese from Cypress Grove Chevre. It just melts in your mouth!

Joanna, I have used the "I like to sit still and eat cheese" line so many times with my sporty family and friends! I love Tomme and Ossau Iraty and ok, well all cheese really. Ooh Monte Enebro with honey as well..

You look so proud gazing down at your cheese board. And rightly so--it's a beaut! I loooooove cheese and have enjoyed many a wedge of luscious La Tur and wonderfully nutty Pleasant Ridge Reserve. One of my all time favorites is Winnimere- a winter/spring seasonal cheese by Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont. This insanely good semi-soft raw cow's milk cheese is washed in lambic ale and wrapped in spruce bark prior to aging. It's a little stinky but milky-sweet and just an incredible little cheese. Run, don't walk, to Murray's and snag some before it's all gone!

Love this post! I was just telling my sister that we need to live closer so we can share a cheese of the month membership. We've decided instead of a move, to make a monthly date to get together and share our love of cheese and conversation!